30 Palestinian children suffer from tear gas inhalation after Israeli raid on al-Khalil school

Israeli forces storm into an elementary school in the city of al-Khalil (Hebron), in southern West Bank, on February 21, 2019.

Israeli forces have stormed into an elementary school in the flashpoint West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), causing at least 30 Palestinian students to suffer tear gas inhalation.

Medics told the Palestinian Wafa news agency that the Israeli troops had fired tear gas canisters at the students in the school yard on Thursday and that one of the injured children was in critical condition.

The school principal said that a number of settlers had accompanied the Israeli soldiers during the raid.

The attacks have increased since the Tel Aviv regime's expulsion of an international observer group tasked with safeguarding Palestinians in al-Khalil.

In late January, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the mandate of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) would not be extended, claiming that the monitoring mission “acts against” Tel Aviv.

The announcement drew criticisms from Palestine and the countries that provide observers to the TIPH, namely Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, and Turkey.